Article source: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/pmo-official-said-sara-netanyahu-ordered-him-to-order-gourmet-meals-1.5782216
Thursday, 1 February 2018
U.S. classifies Hamas chief Haniyeh as specially designated global terrorist
The United States government has become the first country outside of Israel to categorize Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, Ambassador Nathan A. Sales, the State Department coordinator for counterterrorism, told The Jerusalem Post.
“Ismail Haniyeh has been involved in Hamas’s campaign of terrorism against Israel for years and even decades. The United States is not fooled by any attempt by Hamas to re-brand itself. We know it for what it is, a terror organization committed to the destruction of the State of Israel.”
Haniyeh called for a violent uprising until “Jerusalem’s liberation” in response to US President Donald Trump’s declaration on December 6 in which he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
According to Sales, the consequences of the labeling of a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under executive order 13224, which aims to impede terrorist-funding, is “significant.”
“All assets belonging to Haniyeh under US jurisdiction will be frozen,” Sales told the Post. “This designation allows us to dry up the sources of funding and kick them out of the international financial system. We don’t want to only stop the bomber, but the person who buys the bombs.”
Israeli officials have accused Iran of growing involvement in funding terrorist groups such as Hamas to carry out attacks against the Jewish state. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot has said the Islamic Republic has increased its funding to Hamas and Islamic Jihad to the tune of $100 million in order to gain more influence in the Gaza Strip.
While increased ties between Hamas and Iran played a role in the Specially Designated Global Terrorist designation, according to Sales, the Trump’s administration’s top priority is to defeat terrorism that threatens the United States and its allies “in all its forms.”
“Israel is, of course, one of our closest allies, especially when it comes to counterterrorism. We have a strong interest in ensuring the continued security of Israel,” he said. “And so, groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, which threaten Israel on a daily basis – we will do what we can to put pressure to bear on those groups.”
The US gave the Specially Designated Global Terrorist designation to Hamas members Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif in September 2015.
In addition to Haniyeh, the United States will also assign the terrorist designation to Harkaat al-Sabareen, an Iranian-backed terrorist group in the Gaza Strip that broke from Islamic Jihad in May 2014.
“This group has launched rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip and has also planned deadly terror attacks,” Sales said, adding that the group is part of Iran’s network of terrorist organizations it uses to spread its influence around the world.
“By designating this group, we are signaling very clearly that Iran’s consistent support for terrorism is incompatible with the values of a civilized society and must stop.”
Two Egyptian groups, Liwa al-Thura and Hazm, both offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, will also be designated by the US government as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
“These groups, in their relatively short history, have compiled a truly bloody record of killing senior Egyptian government and military officials as well as innocent civilians,” Sales said. “A stable Egypt is in the interest of the United States and in the interest of Israel, and this is why we are pursuing these two designations.”
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
The Israeli-Palestinian battle for Africa
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called on African nations to continue to support the Palestinian cause and to reject Israel’s efforts to improve ties with Africa. Abbas was speaking on Monday before scores of African leaders who were meeting in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa at the 30th Assembly of African Heads of State.
While many African nations have historically supported the Palestinians in the international arena, Israel has made it a foreign policy imperative to make diplomatic inroads throughout Africa and to obtain the backing of countries there. To that end, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made three trips to visit African leaders over the past year-and-a-half.
More recently, since declaring an end to the primary position the United States has traditionally held in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Abbas has called upon the African Union to participate in an international peace forum that would replace the American-led effort. The Palestinian leader declared that “peace efforts require the establishment of a multilateral mechanism under the umbrella of the United Nations.”
Mazen Shamieh, head of the Africa Department at the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The Media Line that Palestinians have relations with African nations that go back five decades. “The relations between Palestine and Africa have grown recently with Africa’s increasingly important strategic role in the world.” Noting that Africa has the largest voting bloc in the UN, he contended that Netanyahu is constantly trying to boost relations with African nations to prevent them from supporting the Palestinian cause. Shamieh claimed that Palestinians “have expertise and capabilities to change realities in developing African nations.”
Hanna Issa, a Palestinian political analyst, pointed out to The Media Line that Abbas has established solid relations with Africa nations, especially South Africa. These relations were originally nurtured by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. “Palestinians need to have the Africans standing by their side, particularly at this time with the Trump administration’s pro-Israel position on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” he said
Ofir Gendelman, a spokesperson at the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, asserted to The Media Line that Israel is a key ally of many African nations who seek its expertise in hi-tech, energy, water, agriculture and security issues. “Israel has expanded considerably its outreach to African nations in recent years as Netanyahu has visited the continent three times in the last 18 months alone.” Claiming that Palestinians are trying to foil this African-Israeli rapprochement for cynical political reasons, he said that this would fail as Africa views Israel as a “key partner,” while the PA has nothing to offer Africans.
Gendelman pointed out that Israel is expanding its diplomatic relations not only in Africa, but also in Asia and Latin America. He explained that after 1967, many African nations cut ties with Israel due to pressure from some Arab countries, “but in recent years we see Israel coming back to Africa and Africa is coming back to Israel.”
Abbas’ recently launched diplomatic campaign to garner support for a more inclusive peace initiative after having disqualified Washington from its historical role as mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The PA has effectively boycotted the White House since the December declaration, leading to an unprecedented crisis in relations which has included a drastic cut in American aid to the UN agency that attends to Palestinian refugees.
Last week, Abbas traveled to Brussels to lobby European Union member states to help in establishing the multilateral forum, which might also include Russia and China.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Why I am pleased with the OU decision on female clergy
I have served as rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Sons of Israel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey for eighteen years. Cherry Hill is wonderful place to live and raise proud Orthodox Jewish children.
In addition to our growing Orthodox community that boasts four shuls, a Day School, two Eruvin, two women’s Mikvaot and two men’s Mikvaot we also have a large and proud non- Orthodox Jewish community. We have a strong Federation of Southern New Jersey, a wonderful foundation that provides necessary funding for communal needs, a fantastic Coalition of Families for Children with Special Needs, a stunning JCC building and the most successful JCC camp in North America.
The Orthodox community interacts well with the greater Jewish community. As the senior synagogue in town, we at Sons of Israel host the Politz Day School on our campus, oversee the Cherry K Vaad Hakasruth, the West Side Eruv and Mikvaot as well as the local Chevra Kaddisha. Chabad handles the East Side Mikvaot and excellent Orthodox camping options while Torah Links oversees the East Side Eruv. The entire Jewish community benefits and is grateful for the services that these Orthodox institutions provide.
It has been asked umpteen times – if the JCC serves a majority of non -Orthodox Jews why must the kitchen be maintained Orthodox kosher? If the senior housing division provides residence to a majority of non-Orthodox Jews why must it be Orthodox kosher? Why are the burial customs and rituals in town only Orthodox? The compelling answer presented for over the better part of a century first by Rabbi Bernard Rothman shlitt’a and then by me and others is because we want to maintain a community standard that is uniform and satisfactory to all levels of the community. In other words we should rise to the lowest common denominator of normative Orthodoxy in the United States. This is how we transitioned to supplying only Glatt Kosher meat in our institutions, and building and maintaining communal standards that we are proud of. (If you come to Cherry Hill on Chol Hamoed, Yeshiva week or summer vacation you will see hundreds of Orthodox guests enjoying our services).
The OU (Orthodox Union) has played a significant role directly and indirectly in fortifying our positions throughout the years. We looked to the OU for guidance in Kashruth, Synagogue Services, Yachad, political advocacy and more. The reason the Orthodox community maintains confidence in their positions and is respected by all is because of the sincerity and consistency of our positions. In the “out of town” world Orthodoxy stands for tradition and the unbroken chain of Mesorah from Sinai.
In the “out of town” world Orthodoxy stands for tradition and the unbroken chain of Mesorah from Sinai.
In recent years, due to the powerful influences in western society of liberalism, individualism and gender blurring, a group has arisen from the void left open by yesteryear’s Conservative Judaism that calls itself Open Orthodoxy. It has a men’s rabbinical school, a women’s rabbinical school and a mixed rabbinical organization. Open Orthodoxy has made inroads in the big city Jewish communities touting their version of neo-Conservative Judaism that includes female rabbis, celebration of same sex relationships and questioning the divinity of the Torah – to name a few changes. Surprisingly four OU synagogues have been staffed with Open Orthodox male and female rabbis. This is problematic.
We live in a free country and everyone is able to practice their religion as they would like to. But it is duplicitous to espouse non-Orthodox theology and brand it proudly as the New Orthodox. This is simply false. Besides distorting the authentic ways of our religion, it also causes confusion, mistrust and a cheapening of Orthodoxy throughout the non-Orthodox and gentile worlds. It awakens an unhealthy questioning about the eternal truths of Judaism that have been understood as Orthodox until now. Thanks to the OU this will not be the case.
The OU appointed a respected rabbinic panel to author a responsum last year that advanced the clear position that the concept of a female rabbi is simply incompatible with Orthodoxy. This week the OU has courageously adopted the position that they will not tolerate any violation of the response. Failing to abide by the rabbinic decisions in the response will mean exclusion from the OU synagogue network. It asked the four synagogues to change the title by which the women serving in clergy positions are called, but when they did not, decided not to oust them from the organization as the positions were filled before the OU rabbinic ruling. They continue to hold discussions with those synagogues on the subject, however.
Yes there will be fallout. The liberal press will again paint the OU as primitive. There will be a handful of rabbis and synagogues that will feel offended and let it be known. But at the end of the day religion is one of the only arenas left where there is the possibility of pursuing truth, authenticity and clarity in a chaotic and Fake News world. As an Orthodox rabbi in an out of town community in the United States who tries to teach the Torah transmitted to me from my mentors who studied in the great Torah institutions with the Orthodox luminaries of yesteryear I can sleep better now that the OU has made as clear as possible that the principles of Orthodox Judaism do not change with the winds of society.
Ephraim Epstein serves as the rabbi of Sons of Israel, the largest and longest contiuously functioning synagogue in the Delaware Valley. He is a member of the RCA executive committee but these views reflect his own opinions.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Key contest for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Lithuania
Maccabi Tel Aviv enters Thursday’s Euroleague game at Zalgiris Kaunas knowing it may well end up looking back at the showdown in Lithuania as a crucial juncture in its campaign.
The yellow-and-blue is aiming to string together three straight continental wins for the first time this season, as well as another first in two road victories in a row.
A triumph would also see Maccabi move tied in the standings with Zalgiris in sixth place, and at the very least ensure it maintains a two-game gap in the battle for a top-eight finish and playoff qualification.
It would also mean Tel Aviv remains no more than two games behind third place.
Maccabi will have to start showing some consistency in its final 10 games to qualify for the quarterfinals, not to mention surprisingly sneak into the top four to secure home-court advantage in the playoffs.
The yellow-and-blue will also have to finally prove that it can beat one of the competition’s quality sides on the road, with six of its remaining games being away from Yad Eliyahu Arena.
Tel Aviv finally snapped its Euroleague road drought with its best offensive display of the season last Friday, beating Olimpia Milano 111-102 in Italy. Tel Aviv improved to 11-9 with its first road win in more than two months, maintaining a two-game lead over Baskonia Vitoria in the battle for a topeight finish. Unicaja Malaga and Red Star Belgrade are one game further back.
Maccabi is tied with Khimki Moscow in seventh place, with Zalgiris one game ahead of the two and Real Madrid, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos a further game in front.
The yellow-and-blue, which had lost its previous five road games against Barcelona, CSKA Moscow, Panathinaikos, Real Madrid and Olympiacos by an average 18.4 points per contest, will be targeting a second road victory in a row against one of the Euroleague’s pleasant surprises this season.
Zalgiris, guided by coach Sarunas Jasikevicius, who led Maccabi to Euroleague crowns in 2004 and 2005, is on course to reach the playoffs despite having one of the smallest budgets of the 16 teams in the competition. Kaunas has gone 7-3 over its past 10 games, winning all five of its home contests over that stretch. The Lithuanians are 7-2 at the Zalgiro Arena, with the losses coming against Real Madrid and Baskonia Vitoria back in November.
“I don’t think that the game versus Zalgiris will decide if we’ll make it to the playoffs, there are a lot of games left to play. We will do it step by step,” insisted Maccabi coach Neven Spahija. “It’s a tough league, there are those who are considering Zalgiris as a surprise, but everyone has good parts during the season as well as bad ones with so many games to play.”
With captain Paulius Jankunas (12.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg) being questionable for the game, the hosts will look to Kevin Pangos (12.5 ppg, 6.2 apg) and Aaron White (9.9 ppg) to pick up the slack, if necessary.
Zalgiris ranks among the top three in the Euroleague both in two-point (55.0%) and three-point (40.0%) accuracy, but connected on only 7-of-25 attempts from beyond the arc (28.0%) in the 81-74 defeat to Maccabi at Yad Eliyahu two months ago.
“Zalgiris is a good team and is playing at home,” added Spahija. “But we’re ready and we are in a good momentum. I don’t know if that will be enough to win the game but we are ready.”
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Beersheba snags Kabha on final day of transfer window
Four days before they face-off on the pitch in Premier League action, Hapoel Beersheba beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in the battle for the signature of Marwan Kabha on Wednesday in the final day of the January transfer window.
Maccabi wasn’t left empty handed, completing a loan deal for the services of Gidi Kanyuk.
Kabha, who will celebrate his 27th birthday later this month, had offers from both Beersheba and Maccabi after making a decision to return to Israel following two-and-a-half years with NK Maribor in Slovenia.
The former Maccabi Petah Tikva midfielder, who has made four appearances for the Israel national team, ultimately chose to sign a four-and-a-half year deal with Beersheba, with one of the factors reportedly being his fear that he will have to contend with a small racist minority of Maccabi fans who publicly opposed his signing.
“The past few days have been pretty interesting to say the least, but eventually I made my choice and I’m at peace with it,” said Kabha, who played with Maribor in the Champions League group stage this season after helping the Slovenians knock out Beersheba in the playoffs.
“I’m happy to be joining the Israeli champion and from now on I’ll put everything that happened aside and focus on professional matters.
“Just as I was part of knocking Beersheba out of the Champions League, I hope to play a role in helping the team to qualify for the group stage.”
Following Kabha’s arrival, Beersheba allowed midfielder Vova Broun to join Ashdod SC on a loan deal until the end of the season.
Maccabi Tel Aviv, which is two points back of Beersheba ahead of Sunday’s showdown in Netanya, reached an agreement with Uzbekistan side Pakhtakor Tashkent FK for the loan deal of Kanyuk.
The 24-year-old midfielder joined Pakhtakor from Maccabi Petah Tikva this past summer.
“I am delighted to join Maccabi and hope to help the club reach its goals,” Kanyuk told the club’s website.
“Gidi knows the club and was part of the Maccabi youth set-up with Omer Atzili in the past,” said Maccabi’s CEO Ben Mansford.
“Gidi needs no introduction to our supporters after his recent goals against us and it is those qualities that we are pleased to have for the rest of the season.
What really impressed me about Gidi was his desire to play for Maccabi above and beyond any other consideration. That kind of mentality is exactly what is demanded at Maccabi and ultimately required for us to win trophies.”
Following Kanyuk’s addition, Maccabi’s 19-year-old midfielder Or Dasa has joined Hapoel Ra’anana on a loan deal.
Elsewhere, Ben Reichert, who didn’t appear in a single match for Zulte Waregem in Belgium since joining last summer, is returning to Israel to play for rock-bottom Hapoel Acre.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Caretaker of the land of Israel
For Jewish National Fund-USA, Tu Bishvat is a day of celebration. For over 100 years it has planted trees and today does so much more – nourish communities, foster innovation, and build a better today and tomorrow for Israel.
The connection between JNF-USA and the holiday of Tu Bishvat, then, is a natural and obvious one.
“As the caretaker of the land of Israel, literally, JNF-USA celebrates its flagship holiday on Tu Bishvat,” explained Eric Michaelson, JNF-USA chief Israel officer. “For nearly 116 years, this is our way of gathering people who love Israel from all over the world, to plant trees here. Today, more than a century later and after turning Israel into the only place on earth that has more trees at the beginning of the 21st century than it had in the 20th, Tu Bishvat is not only a celebration of trees and environmentalism, but rather all of JNF-USA’s initiatives and our deep roots embedded within the history of Israel.”
Michaelson emphasized that the planting and afforestation efforts have been broadened toward bringing people, building cities, developing infrastructure, enhancing the quality of life and working tirelessly to secure the future of Israel; all of this primarily with our nation’s modern-day pioneers, who are growing and cultivating the frontier regions – the Negev and Galilee, specifically.
“In turn, the current leadership at Jewish National Fund is now building upon the foundation that was laid before us, paving the way for the pioneers of today to come, as we continue to raise the bar of opportunity,” he continued. “In doing so, we honor the legacy of Tu Bishvat, our forefathers and [Theodor] Herzl, by planting human capital and invest- ing in the next generation. A multifaceted investment that comes in the form of support for innovation, research and development in alternative energy and sustainable practices, education, employment, housing, healthcare, culture, social entrepreneurship, and much more.”
Michaelson highlighted that “as we move into the 70th year since Israel’s establishment, we remember this import- ant legacy we have been given, and make it our mission to continue building Israel for generations to come.
“Our grandparents planted the seeds and we are harvesting the fruit while fulfilling our own calling to surpass the trees that were planted; with people,” he said.
With JNF-USA’s extensive activities and its decision over recent years to concentrate on strengthening Israel’s geographic and social periphery, the organization has not neglected any of its major tasks – protecting the length and the breadth of Israel’s natural landscapes and developing the country, especially in the Negev in the South and the Galilee in the North.
One of JNF-USA’s groundbreaking initiatives is Blueprint Negev, which aims to improve the quality of life in the Negev and ultimately bring 500,000 new residents to the region in the next 10 years.
When Blueprint Negev was launched in 2003, 193,000 people lived in the region, with a 3% population loss a year, despite the Negev making up some 60% of Israel’s landmass. Now, the city of Beersheba is fast growing and home to more than 200,000.
In the Galilee, JNF-USA is working to show Israel and the world what the North has to offer from both a living and tourism perspective.
Its Go North initiative aims to bring some 300,000 new residents by 2024 and to economically develop the Galilee to make it a desirable alternative place to live rather than the country’s congested and overpriced center.
The younger generation of Israelis often move to the cen- ter because of the lack of economic opportunities in the North, but JNF-USA is working tirelessly to combat that trend by investing in medical centers and housing funds, and by working to attract new immigrants to the North.
To celebrate this special holiday and Israel’s 70th birth- day, JNF-USA is celebrating Tu Bishvat from January 15 to February 15 with a sweepstakes that awards the grand prize winner with a round-trip airline ticket to Israel on EL AL Airlines and a two-night stay at the luxurious Carlton Hotel in Tel Aviv, just by planting a tree in Israel. The prize also includes a JNF day tour for two people.
There are also 10 runner-up prizes to be won.
However, for those who wish to join a once in a lifetime experience JNF is offering an unparalleled, unique experience to celebrate Israel’s 70th anniversary as part of its [email protected] mission. The mission has five different tracks that will give participants a unique and interesting experience in the Holy Land. This includes the Young Leadership Experience, an Interfaith Experience, a Spirit of Israel experience, a President’s Society Experience and the San Diego Community Experience. Depending on what track is chosen, the [email protected] mission will explore the different facets that Israel has to offer both from a historical point of view to a modern day look at the country through spirituality and religion or exploring what makes a leader and the history of leadership in Israel.
For example, participants can discover the diverse cultures, communities, and religions that were born in Israel and coexist today through the interfaith experience, or see a different side of Israel with other young professionals on a one-of-a-kind subsidized trip and engage with young, dynamic Israelis who are assuming leadership roles in their communities, while also exploring Israel’s rich history through the young leadership experience. Each track gives participants the opportunity to celebrate Israel’s 70th birthday in style through a momentous and unforgettable trip. The tours will also include a memorable Shabbat dinner with Deputy Minister for Diplomacy in the Prime Minister’s Office Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the US; front row seats to an exclusive Yom Hazikaron event in Jerusalem with families of Israeli war veterans, military heroes, and other special guests; an insider’s look into Israel’s deep-rooted history dating back 70 years to the fight for independence through present day; and festive Yom Ha’atzma’ut celebrations with local Israelis.
JNF-USA’s Speakers Bureau Chairman and [email protected] Mission co-chair Robert Benedon emphasized to The Jerusalem Post that “Jewish National Fund strives to enhance the quality of life for all of Israel’s residents and contributes positively to the environment making Israel even more beautiful for those who live and visit the Jewish home- land,” he said. “Although the planting of trees is an import- ant component of our work in Israel, JNF is building communities, preserving heritage sites, working to make the lives of those with special needs better and so much more.
“We do this through our amazing partnerships in Israel, our dedicated professional staff and lay leadership,” Benedon added.
Michelson concluded with saying that by taking part in such initiatives, “The seeds that we plant today will be the trees of tomorrow and by doing so we will be sharing in the momentous occasion of Israel’s 70th anniversary and the timeless ethos of the Jewish nation in the land of Israel.”
To enter the sweepstakes, plant-a-tree competition, go to: www.jnf.org/events-landing-pages/tu-bishvat-sweepstakes
This article was written in cooperation with JNF-USA.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Lorde fans sue BDS activists for 'inciting' her to cancel Israel show
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Israel presents $1 billion rehabilitation plan for Gaza, but demands Palestinian Authority take over
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Turkey orders detention of 120 army personnel over Gulen links
ISTANBUL – A Turkish prosecutor issued detention warrants for 120 suspects from the military, the state-run Anadolu agency said on Thursday, the latest in a long-running government crackdown launched after a failed coup attempt in 2016.
Police began simultaneous raids in 43 provinces to capture the suspects, 58 of whom were believed to be users of the outlawed ByLock messaging app, Anadolu said.
Turkey banned ByLock following the attempted putsch, saying followers of the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen used it communicate on the night of the coup, when rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and warplanes to attack parliament, killing more than 240 people.
Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, has denied involvement and condemned the coup.
More than 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial over alleged links to Gulen, while 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from jobs in the military, public and private sectors.
The government dismisses rights groups’ concerns about the crackdown, saying only such a purge could neutralize the threat represented by Gulen’s network, which it says infiltrated institutions such as the judiciary, army and schools.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Rivlin to eulogize late poet Haim Gouri at funeral on Thursday afternoon
President Reuven Rivlin will eulogize the late famed poet Haim Gouri at his funeral Thursday afternoon at the Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem.
He will give the eulogy at noon, and the funeral will follow at 1:30 p.m.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
France to finance exports to Iran to sidestep U.S. sanctions
PARIS – France will start offering euro-denominated loans to Iranian buyers of its goods later this year, to help trade flourish outside the reach of US sanctions, the head of state-owned investment bank Bpifrance said.
France has been looking to boost trade with Iran ever since Paris, Washington and other world powers agreed in 2015 to lift many sanctions on Iran in exchange for controls on its nuclear program.
But US President Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of the agreement and Washington has maintained some financial restrictions, leaving private banks – even those based outside the United States – wary of financing deals.
The plan is to offer dedicated, euro-denominated export credits to Iranian buyers of French goods and services and so avoid the extraterritorial reach of US legislation.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Turkish chair of Amnesty International held in custody
ISTANBUL – The jailed chairman of the Turkish branch of Amnesty International, Taner Kilic, remains in detention despite a court ruling for his release and will appear in court on Thursday, the rights group said.
A Turkish court on Wednesday had ordered Kilic’s conditional release while his trial on terrorism charges continues. The charges against Kilic and other human rights workers have drawn criticism from the European Union and United States.
Kilic was transferred from Izmir prison, where he had been held for almost eight months, into gendarmerie custody because of an arrest warrant against him, Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s Europe Director said on Twitter.
Van Gulik did not say whether Kilic faced fresh charges under the arrest warrant, or whether it was the result of the appeal by the prosecution against the order for his release.
“Amnesty International witnessed Taner being taken from the Izmir prison into Gendarmerie custody to a station nearby,” Van Gulik said. “While no formal decision was communicated to lawyers, gendarmerie said there is an arrest warrant out for him.”
Van Gulik also said that the gendarmerie confirmed that Kilic will be taken to a local court in Izmir on Thursday morning.
Prosecutors say Kilic downloaded ByLock, a messaging application used by supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Muslim cleric blamed by Turkey for a failed military coup in 2016. Kilic denies the terrorism charges.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Khamenei adviser says Iranian influence in region is 'inevitable'
ANKARA – The top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday the country’s leadership had no intention of reining in its influence across the Middle East despite U.S. pressure to do so, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
“Iran’s influence in the region is inevitable and to remain a key player in the region, this influence will continue … Iran has no intention to abandon the oppressed nations in the region,” the adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, was quoted by Fars as saying.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Fate of Eurocom bailout appears to be in hands of Discount Bank
The fate of indebted Eurocom Communications appeared to be in the hands of Israel Discount Bank Wednesday as Naty Saidoff, the lead contender to buy the company that controls Bezeq, said he would not agree to any delays in the decision-making process.
In marathon talks overnight Tuesday, Saidoff improved the cash portion of his offer by adding 25 million shekels ($7.3 million), for a total of 400 million shekels. In Tel Aviv District Court Judge Eitan Orenstein’s courtroom Wednesday, Saidoff’s lawyers said he wanted a quick decision on Eurocom’s fate.
Rejecting a request by Eurocom lawyers to hold off for 30 days on closing any deal, Amir Bartov, Saidoff’s attorney, said, “If there isn’t a creditors’ meeting to approve a deal by February 7, we’re dropping out.”
The bank creditors of Eurocom Communications, which are owed a combined 1.2 billion shekels, agreed that Saidoff’s and two other bids should be considered by bank management as soon as possible.
The other two bids are from Eduardo Elsztain’s IDB Group and from brothers Chen and Tzahi Neuman through their closely held Alon Group. The winner will get control of Bezeq, Israel’s biggest telecommunications company, which Eurocom controls through a string of intermediary companies.
Thank you for signing up.
We’ve got more newsletters we think you’ll find interesting.
Click here
Oops. Something went wrong.
Please try again later.
Thank you,
The email address you have provided is already registered.
Close
Among the bank creditors, Bank Hapoalim and First International Bank of Israel reported support Saidoff, on the assumption that Elsztain’s bid will encounter antitrust problems because IDB Group controls Cellcom Israel, Israel’s biggest mobile carrier and a Bezeq competitor.
Meanwhile, they regard the Neumann bid as speculative and not a serious third option.
Bank Discount lawyer Amnon Lorch gave the court a confusing statement Wednesday on the bank’s position. It was understood to mean the bank didn’t support Saidoff. On the other hand, Saidoff’s representatives said they were under the impression that Discount did support the bid.
Discount Bank’s New York branch does considerable business with Saidoff, who controls a Los Angeles-based property empire, but it also has close ties with Elsztain’s IDB group. Sources close to Elsztain and Discount denied he was putting pressure on the bank to support his Eurocom bid.
Discount, whose 480 million shekels in loans to Eurocom Communications make it the company’s biggest creditor, had been trying for weeks to find other bidders, which yielded the Neuman bid. Sources said its options were to approve Saidoff, continue the search for alternatives or propose selling off Eurocom’s assets piecemeal.
Any delay, however, increases the risk that the creditors of Eurocom Real Estate, a sister company to Eurocom Communications, will act unilaterally if the Eurocom Communications bailout does not address the issue of the 250 million shekels owed to them.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
What’s up, doc? Physician’s pay that’s what
The fact that every young Israeli who scores a (high) 740 or more on the psychometric exam opts for a career in medicine has always seemed to me like a waste of human capital. Instead of all these brainy people dedicating themselves to politics, scientific research, technology or art – all areas that require path-breaking creativity – they spend it in a field that demands high levels of skills but certainly not the country’s brightest minds.
For this unfortunate situation we can point our finger at the proverbial Jewish mother, who wants nothing else than for her offspring to practice medicine.
Alas, I was wrong. The Jewish mother is a lot smarter than we thought because being a doctor is the best way to become quite well off. And what mother always knew has been confirmed by three researchers at the Finance Ministry.
Alexey Belinsky, Galit Ben Naim and Yoav Hecht, in a study published this week, found that the average pre-tax pay for a doctor with at least 10 years work experience is 790,000 shekels ($231,500) annually, or 66,000 shekels a month.
Of that monthly figure, 19,000 comes from practicing privately (they are the only public-sector employees allowed to hold private sector jobs on the side) and the rest from his or her public sector pay (that is, working at a government hospital in the morning and a health maintenance organization clinic in the afternoon).
Thank you for signing up.
We’ve got more newsletters we think you’ll find interesting.
Click here
Oops. Something went wrong.
Please try again later.
Thank you,
The email address you have provided is already registered.
Close
Those numbers refute the myth that doctors never earn back the 12 years they spend getting their medical education. Together with their private income doctors are the best paid professionals in Israel. They earn more than university lecturers, apparently more than lawyers and certainly more than what is conventionally thought to be the top-paying sector in Israel, high-tech.
The generous pay doctors enjoy has only developed over the last decade and was mainly due to two public-sector labor agreements in 2008 and 2011. The raises, which boosted doctors pay an astounding 76% over 10 years, came after complaints by the doctors about eroding pay and, in the case of the 2011 agreement, after a bitter strike.
The 2011 agreement achieved its goal of compensating doctors who had fewer opportunities to tap into the riches of private practice. Pay was boosted for doctors in the periphery and in specialties like anesthesia where there are fewer opportunities in private medicine. The result was that more doctors began working in the periphery and entering those specialties. It also helped to equalize pay between doctors.
But the pact failed in its other goal of coaxing doctors into spending more hours in public sector medicine rather than private. The average shift for a doctor in public medicine climbed, but just to 105% from 95% over a decade.
That’s unlikely to change. Private medicine is lucrative, but it’s especially lucrative for a powerful minority of practitioners number about 400 physicians, mainly department heads at public hospitals. They take the lion’s share of private-sector income, which grew by 1.3 billion shekels over the last decade — more than Israel’s three biggest government hospitals earned during that time.
The fact that they have such huge earning power is due to their public sector jobs that earn them the reputation they can build their private practices on. But few of them feel any need to render service back to the system: The more a typical doctor earned from private practice, the less he or she was likely to be working in public-sector medicine.
Thus, the top 10% of physician earners had an average, before-tax annual pay of 1.9 million shekels, or 160,000 shekels a month, of which 60% came from private medicine. For the bottom 80% of doctors, private practice accounted for just 20% of their income.
Efforts are being made to restore some of the old public-private balance. Among other things, doctors at government hospitals are barred from referring their patients to their own private clinics. Another plan offers higher pay to doctors who agree to work exclusively in public medicine.
That will mean paying them monthly salaries of 100,000 shekels or more. It’s a lot, but peanuts compared to what they can earn privately.
The 2011 labor agreement is due to expire in two years, but the chance to shake up the system is destined for failure if the problem of a shortage of hospital beds and doctors isn’t solved. The bargaining chips will be with the doctors and not with the government. The treasury’s refusal to increase spending on those two items will only boomerang in the form of higher doctor’s pay in the future.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Israeli union head warns on power reform
Setting the stage for a clash with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Histadrut labor federation chief Avi Nissenkorn warned he would not support a major reform of the electricity sector unless the government backed off a legal dispute over public-sector strikes.
“We have agreements and if they’re not honored, there’ll be no reform,” Nissenkorn told a news conference. “We have a reform plan and it’s the right one, but let me make clear we won’t give up the right to strike. That’s a matter of life and death for the Histadrut.”
The deal reached in December between the government and unions trades measures to increase competition in the power sector for cutbacks at state-owned Israel Electric Corp., which is largely controlled by powerful labor unions.
Under the deal, the government agreed to withdraw a High Court of Justice petition demanding restrictions on strikes at state monopolies like IEC, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly opposed the reversal.
He said he was on board with an interim agreement to reduce the workweek by an hour to 42, but wanted to bring Israel in line with the average for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Thank you for signing up.
We’ve got more newsletters we think you’ll find interesting.
Click here
Oops. Something went wrong.
Please try again later.
Thank you,
The email address you have provided is already registered.
Close
In fact, the 42-hour week has not been implemented because Labor Minister Haim Katz has not signed off on it. Nissenkorn said he expected this to be done in time for it to go into effect on March 1.
The shorter workweek will mainly affect employees who are entitled to overtime pay, which will kick in four hours earlier on average every month. In effect, hourly pay will also rise, since the same amount will be divided into fewer hours.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Outraged over Polish Holocaust bill, Israeli minister demands Netanyahu recall ambassador
Likud Minister Yisrael Katz demanded on Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recall Israel’s ambassador to Poland over controversial legislation that was backed by Polish lawmakers, which would criminalize accusing the Polish nation of complicity in Nazi crimes.
The bill, now pending the approval of the polish president, was passed by Senate overnight despite assurances that dialogue on the legislation would be held with Israel before a vote takes place.
“The [draft] law passed by the Poles is serious and constitutes a denial of responsibility and of Poland’s role in the Jewish Holocaust,” Katz said after Polish lawmakers backed the bill. “In the balance between political and moral considerations, a clear decision must be taken – commemorating the victims of the Holocaust over any other consideration.”
MK Zipi Livni (Zionist Union), a former foreign minister, said the approval of the law is “unacceptable and spitting in the face of Israel twice, both as the nation of the Jewish people and also against the prime minister who announced he had reached agreements with the Poles – if there were such [understandings].
“Israel needs to respond firmly, to immediately and openly put on the agenda the documentation of the crimes by Poles during the Holocaust and to send a clear message: We won’t allow them to cause the past to be forgotten.”
Thank you for signing up.
We’ve got more newsletters we think you’ll find interesting.
Click here
Oops. Something went wrong.
Please try again later.
Thank you,
The email address you have provided is already registered.
Close
Kulanu MK Yoav Gallant tweeted against the bill, saying “The bill that passed tonight by the Senate in Poland is Holocaust Denial. The memory of six million is stronger than any law. We will internalize their memory and remember the lesson- that we must defend ourselves by our own strength.”
The Senate voted on the draft bill in the early hours on Thursday and it will now be sent to President Andrzej Duda for a final signature.
Poland’s PAP news agency reported 57 senators voted for the draft bill, with 23 against and two abstentions.
“We have to send a clear signal to the world that we won’t allow for Poland to continue being insulted,” Patryk Jaki, a deputy justice minister, told reporters in parliament.
The Senate’s approval of the bill came despite Polish assurances that a dialogue on the legislation would be held with Israel before a vote on it in the Senate. It had previously been approved by the lower house of parliament.
The legislation, which bans any claims that the Polish people or Polish state were responsible or complicit in the Nazis’ crimes, also bans minimizing the responsibility of “the real perpetrators” for these crimes.
Media reports of the lower house’s passage of the bill last Friday created a political, public and media storm in Israel. Israeli officials took several steps in response, including a telephone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki.
The contacts resulted in the two countries agreeing to set up a joint task force to discuss the matter, but before the sides began their work, the Polish Senate approved the bill.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Despite promise to Israel, Polish Senate backs bill criminalizing mention of nation's complicity in Holocaust
The upper house of the Polish parliament, the Senate, backed a controversial bill criminalizing allegations of the Polish nation’s complicity in the Holocaust. The bill has caused a storm of opposition in Israel.
“We have to send a clear signal to the world that we won’t allow for Poland to continue being insulted,” Patryk Jaki, a deputy justice minister, told reporters in parliament.
The Polish were once victims of historical whitewashing. Now they are doing the same | Analysis
The Senate voted on the draft bill in the early hours on Thursday and it will now be sent to President Andrzej Duda for a final signature.
Poland’s PAP news agency reported 57 senators voted for the draft bill, with 23 against and two abstentions.
Thank you for signing up.
We’ve got more newsletters we think you’ll find interesting.
Click here
Oops. Something went wrong.
Please try again later.
Thank you,
The email address you have provided is already registered.
Close
The Senate’s approval of the bill came despite Polish assurances that a dialogue on the legislation would be held with Israel before a vote on it in the Senate. It had previously been approved by the lower house of parliament.
The legislation, which still requires the approval by Poland’s president to become law, bans any claims that the Polish people or Polish state were responsible or complicit in the Nazis’ crimes, crimes against humanity or war crimes. The bill also bans minimizing the responsibility of “the real perpetrators” for these crimes.
In explanatory notes accompanying the bill, it was noted that it aims to fight expressions such as “Polish extermination camps,” which purportedly attribute guilt for the Nazis’ crimes to the Poles — rather than reference Nazi concentration camps in Poland. The bill calls for an imprisonment of up to three years for violations of the legislation.
The lower house of parliament passed the bill last Friday. Media reports of the lower house’s passage of the bill created political, public and media storm in Israel. Israelis officials took several steps in response, including a telephone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki. The Polish deputy ambassador in Israel was summoned to the Israeli Foreign Ministry for clarifications, and Israel’s ambassador in Warsaw had contacts on the matter with the Polish president’s office.
The contacts resulted in the two countries agreeing to set up a joint taskforce to discuss the matter, but even before the sides began their work, the Polish Senate approved the bill. The last stage of the Polish legislative process is its approval by Polish President Andrzej Duda, who has the power to request changes to the legislation or even veto it. In recent comments, however, Duda has expressed support for the legislation, which he said corrects a historic wrong and defends Poland’s reputation.
The legislation carves out an exception for “artistic and scientific” activity. The Polish Foreign Ministry has said that law would also not limit the freedom to conduct research or to hold historical debate. The president’s chief of staff, Krzysztof said the purpose of the law was “preventing lies and baseless accusations directed at the Polish people and the Polish state.” For its part, the Polish Foreign Ministry said it was meant “to prevent the deliberate defamation of Poland.”
Earlier the president’s office attempted to calm concerns in Israel, stating: “Anyone who has a true personal memory or historical research on crimes and on improper conduct that took place in the past with the participation of Poles has the full right to verify this.”
The United States asked Poland to rethink plans to enact proposed legislation, arguing Wednesday that if it passes it could hurt freedom of speech as well as strategic relationships.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Neather Nauert voiced her government’s concerns, saying that the U.S. understands that phrases like “Polish death camps” are “inaccurate, misleading, and hurtful” but voiced concern the legislation could “undermine free speech and academic discourse.”
“We are also concerned about the repercussions this draft legislation, if enacted, could have on Poland’s strategic interests and relationships — including with the United States and Israel. The resulting divisions that may arise among our allies benefit only our rivals,” Nauert said.
“We encourage Poland to reevaluate the legislation in light of its potential impact on the principle of free speech and on our ability to be effective partners.”
Nauert’s statement came only days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Warsaw, where he paid respects to Jewish and Polish victims of the war on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Earlier Wednesday, a U.S. congressional task force on combatting anti-Semitism said it was “alarmed” by the legislation and called on Polish President Andrzej Duda to veto it.
“We are deeply concerned that this legislation could have a chilling effect on dialogue, scholarship, and accountability in Poland about the Holocaust, should this legislation become law,” the bipartisan group said.
The lower house of the Polish parliament approved the bill on Friday, a day before International Holocaust Remembrance Day, timing that has also been criticized as insensitive.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/UN-Syria-mediator-to-head-commission-to-draft-new-Syrian-constitution-540107
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
MK Oren Hazan calls Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein ‘Stalin’
Rabble-rouser MK Oren Hazan made incendiary comments in the plenary on Tuesday, calling Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein – a former refusenik – “Stalin,” shortly before Hazan began serving a six-month suspension from the Knesset for ethics violations.
Edelstein spent three years at hard labor in Siberian prison camps on fabricated drug charges, after he asked to be allowed to move to Israel and secretly conducted Hebrew classes in his home.
Hazan compared Edelstein to Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator responsible for the deaths of millions of people, because the Knesset speaker used a rule allowing him to eject a lawmaker who interrupts a special Knesset meeting after the first offense.
The Likud provocateur later apologized, calling his comment a “Freudian slip.”
After Hazan’s remark comparing the Knesset speaker to a murderous tyrant, MKs Bezalel Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi) and Hilik Bar (Zionist Union) organized a walkout of their colleagues during the rest of Hazan’s speech.
“Shame! Shame on this house,” Bar said.
Deputy Knesset Speaker Revital Swid, of the Zionist Union, who was running the plenum meeting, demanded that Hazan apologize, but he refused. Since Hazan was presenting a bill he proposed, he was allowed to have the stage.
“Edelstein is giving a prize to terrorists,” Hazan lamented from the Knesset’s podium. “How there be a reality in which I, who fights for IDF soldiers not to be called murderers [by Joint List MKs], am punished? How can it be that when I shut the mouth of [Joint List MK Jamal] Zahalka, who said two weeks ago that our flag is worse than a rag… I’m the one who’s punished?”
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Court-releases-suspects-in-NIS-280m-land-fraud-scheme-in-West-Bank-513621
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)